Keeping Positive in Writing

This thought has come up once again for me, and as the holidays draw closer, and time appears to be dashing forward at a marvelous pace, I am left wondering how I'll get it all done.

I have a trilogy book to get ready before December (The Parables of Virginia Bean will, for the first time, be all in one book)

Work on updating Marketing Your Book on a Budget 2017 for its release in January.

Get everything bought and solidified for my signings in November and December.

Continue with my newest book, Tie Died, a new mystery for YA readers.

Keep my clients happily motivated in their own writing.

And more...

What about all else that accompanies the holidays??

Like you, balancing life is often about as easy as balancing a stack of cups on your head. Things get a bit wobbly, and often, are forgotten or come crashing to the floor.

Keeping positive isn't easy, it takes work. It is more natural to groan about our life and all we have to do over being thankful that our life is full and challenging. 

Ever feel as if you'll never get it right?

I know I do, but remaining positive helps. It keeps me going when the going has gotten the hardest. Keeping positive helps me to remain focused and balanced. I am better able to proritize my life. We can't do everything, but we can do those things that are most important first.

Whew! I feel better already.

Wow! I guess anything is possible!

What Means the Most to You in Your Writing?

I may have covered this subject before but it came up for me again today, after the long weekend, and plenty of time to have fun with family...

What means the most to me in my writing?

I think this is a good question to ask yourself a few times a year, just to make sure you're still on track. Because I feel very strongly that I need to share my gifts, that I need to share those things that God wants me to share, and that I need to connect with others, I make these my priority.
Of lesser concern are those things I find running rampant all over the internet, that often can take priority when they shouldn't; making money, marketing every day, speaking at conferences and schools, and the like.

It isn't that these secondary things aren't important, it's just they need to be standing in their proper places, and that means (at least in my book) standing second to the first list.

Losing focus is the easy part. The hard part is sticking to your guns.

Another good question to ask is, Why do you write? The best writers I know were never in the writing business to make money; sure, they wanted to make money, but it wasn't the main reason they wrote. In fact, you may have heard of some writers who didn't really make money until after they were dead :) like Edgar Allan Poe, for example.

I like to think of writing as a journey, a journey to know yourself better, and to express who you are and what you believe to others so that they may also continue on their journeys. If I can make money along the way, that's just the icing on the cake.

Kathryn

So You're Sidetracked Are You?

Okay, so today's post connects a little with yesterday's.

I am almost ready to market Sunny Side-Up (takes a deep breath). But until I do, here's a little push to get beyond other sidetracked issues. Maybe more for me than for you...

Write every day. I usually do my blog, but I need to work on a current project for at least two hours. Actually, I need to write more than two hours a day.

Are you gardening like a fool like I am? I simply LOVE gardening, but I seem to be squeaking in the writing time rather than the gardening. Hmmmm.

Do you say to yourself, I'll write when ____________________________. (You fill in the blank). I've almost curbed this one unless it's, of course, gardening... :)

Editing, for most writers, is their least favorite thing to do. It usually takes first place even over research. With that said, if today if the day to get your work out and read over it again, do it. If it's time to get your work to an editor, do it!

Getting sidetracked is a bit like getting side-trapped. You know, when your sprinklers are on and you need to get around them to dump the garbage. But I know you can do it.

Yep. I know it.

What Do You Get When You Mix Exercise with Ice-cream?

A stomach ache.

This morning I woke up with a bit of a tummy ache. You see, in the morning, I'm all for Wii exercise. I've been exercising to the dance versions for over a year now and love it. I love how I feel, and love how I'm trimming up.

What I don't love?

About 4 p.m. I'm wanting some sugar. So I get a snack. It's usually ice-cream. But I have also retrieved the Oreo's and the chocolate candy, all of which we have at our place in heavy abundance. But who ever heard of a writer that didn't like chocolate?

Anyway, I feel as if I'm cheating myself of all of the good I could be doing, just because I fall off the horse in the afternoon.

I gave up soda over a year ago, too, and believe me, that one has been difficult. So I feel as if I should treat myself to a little sugar.

Only I don't like the stomach aches and I don't like the groggy feeling I sometimes get in the morning because I've been pigging out on snacks.

So why am I telling you all of this? And what, pray, does it have to do with writing?

Let me tell you.

Do you hate criticism of your work, so much, you never let anyone read it? Do you ever write something you feel is so fantastic that you don't want to bother with the editing? Do you struggle finding time to write? Does it come after your housework or your favorite television show, and so you feel you rarely have time to write? Do your children bother you when you write? Do they hang onto your legs like dangling participles? Do you feel as if you can't write when they're awake? Do you feel as if you're lacking great ideas, or that your writing will never be any good?

If you said yes to any of the above questions, take a look.

Are you mixing your writing exercises with chocolate ice-cream? Do you ache inside? Are you going to do something about it? Well, are you?

Would love to hear.

(I'll let you know how I'm doing in about a week).

Write When You Don't Feel Like It

I spent some time with a few authors last night sharing some of my marketing tips. What I noticed first upon entering the classroom was that everyone was engaged in what they were doing: critiquing. The focus on critiquing continued as I spoke with the students instructor, (not even a head bobbed in my direction) and this focus continued until it was time for my husband and I to speak.

Photo by: tnarik, courtesy of Flickr

I have been thinking about this focus on writing ever since.

It's easy as a writer to put aside writing endeavors, especially when you don't feel like writing, or editing, or critiquing. Even cleaning up the kitchen cupboards seems more rewarding. But when I write when I don't feel like it, the focus comes fairly quickly and soon enough I am in another world enjoying what I thought "in the previous moment" I didn't really care to do.  

Do you have the same issue? Do you find yourself putting off for tomorrow the joy you could find today in writing?

If so, let me know about it. What do you do to break free of the "not feeling like writing" feeling?

Keeping Your Focus in Writing

It isn't always easy to keep your focus in writing. If you don't even have a minimal outline, taking you from one scene to another, it is easy to get lost.

Photo by: pfly, courtesy of Flickr

Without a map of some sort, you may find yourself in the creek when you intended to scale the mountain. And while I often write by the seat of my pants I also keep my flight in check by remaining focused on what the main character wants.

I need to know what he/she wants at the beginning of the story, and if what he/she wants is somehow overshadowed by unrelated scenes or not so needed characters, I may find that my story is leading me off the page.

And that's something, as a writer, that you don't want. You want your readers to stay engaged. You want them to continually ask, "What's going to happen next?" not "Why is this in there?" or "I'm lost."

If you fly by the seat of your pants in your writing like I do, take a leap of faith and stop your writing for a moment. Reflect on where your character began and what he/she is up to until this point.

Does what happens on page 2 connect with page 8 and page 10 and page 20, for example?

I love the "so what" factor. Go through each of your scenes and ask the "so what" question.

"Does this scene contribute to the overall plot of my book?"

cm195902, courtesy of Flickr

If not, take it out.

You'll find yourself climbing that mountain again before you know it.